#FreeThiago #FreeSaif

You do not have to have been wrongfully detained yourself to understand this is wrong.

Two of my dear friends—Thiago Ávila and Saif Abu Keshek—were intercepted from a civilian humanitarian mission in international waters and are now being held by Israel in Shikma Prison. Their legal teams describe their detention as harsh and isolating, with repeated extensions of custody despite growing international concern.

You do not have to have been wrongfully detained yourself to understand this is wrong.

You do not have to have faced detention without charge to recognize a miscarriage of justice.

You do not have to have been held in isolation, interrogated repeatedly, or subjected to abuse to know when something is fundamentally unjust.

Thiago has now entered a hunger strike (while continuing to drink water), leaving his own body as the only form of protest left available to him.

I know what it is like to be detained and to carry the constant fear that something might happen to your family while you are unable to be there. During my own nearly two months of wrongful detention, my biggest fear was that something would happen to my mother, who—like Thiago’s—has long battled serious illness.

It breaks my heart (literally) to learn that Thiago’s mother, Teresa, has now passed away in Brazil while he remains detained and unable to be with her.

Brazil’s government has called his continued detention unjustifiable and has demanded his immediate release, including the possibility for him to leave temporarily to attend her funeral. They have raised the issue through diplomatic channels and framed it as a clear humanitarian matter.

United Nations officials have also called for the immediate release of both Thiago Ávila and Saif Abu Keshek, warning that their detention raises serious concerns about due process and the severe mental and physical suffering involved. They have urged Israel to uphold international legal standards and to take urgent humanitarian circumstances, including family bereavement, into account.

This is not an abstract legal dispute. It is the human cost of prolonged detention without charge, clarity, or meaningful judicial restraint.

It is what happens when justice becomes distant from humanity. It is what happens when injustice is granted impunity.

Globally, human rights estimates suggest that tens of thousands to over 100,000 people each year are held in arbitrary or politically motivated detention, which roughly corresponds to about 6–12 people per hour worldwide, according to reporting and case data compiled by organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

You do not need to have been wrongfully detained to take time out of your day and support the wrongfully detained.

Many of you proved this to me. I am profoundly grateful to all those who took time out of their day, day after day, to support me. Your sacrifice inspires my resilience.

“We cannot walk alone … The road ahead is not altogether a smooth one. There are no broad highways that lead us easily and inevitably to quick solutions. But we must keep going."

— MLK